The Wallsend Colliery
John Buddle followed his father into the profession of colliery viewer, a calling which he helped to develop towards the modern concept of a mining engineer. He succeeded his father as manager at Wallsend Colliery in 1806, though his work was not limited to just the local colliery. Buddle soon helped introduce the safety lamp invented by Humphry Davy there, and was a member of the Sunderland Society, set up to investigate colliery safety, and in this connection made scientific investigations into mine ventilation and advocated the keeping of proper records. The most important appointment, however, came when Buddle was appointed as General Manager to Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. Londonderry had married an incredibly wealthy heiress, said to be the wealthiest woman in Britain, Lady Frances Anee Vane Tempest, and thus came to run her Durham collieries .Together, Londonderry and Buddle embarked on a project to develop a Port at Seaham, intending to bypass the Tyne and Wear monopolies. The building of the port began in 1828, and would not be finished until fifteen years later, in which the first shipment of coal was sent out on Buddle's personal ship, Lord Seaham. He even saw through much of the development of the town, his influence being so great that, when his sister Ann died, the ships dressed in black and the shops closed as a matter of respect. He also represented the Marquess on the committee of coalowners who regulated the North East coal trade with London. Although he was mostly active in the Great North Coalfield, the records show Buddle took on work all over Britain, including matters in Portugal, South America, Russia and Nova Scotia. Two of his latest colliery appointments were in 1837 when he became the owner of West Towneley Colliery and also the viewer to the Bishop of Durham- a post previously held by his Father.
In collaboration with William Chapman, Buddle is also considered to have designed the pioneering locomotive Steam Elephant for Wallsend Colliery and an eight-wheeled geared engine for the Lambton Waggonway.
Buddle was a coalowner in his own right as well as a viewer and practical manager for many pits in the region of the rivers Tyne and Wear, and his advice was sought on both mining and railways from as far afield as Nova Scotia,
Buddle was an active member of Newcastle society, and held numerous positions in his lifetime. In 1838, he was elected vice-president of the prestigious Literary and Philosophical Society and also became vice- president of the North of England Fine Arts Society. In 1842 he was appointed as Steward for Northumberland at the Newcastle Infirmary, a position which allowed him to appoint physicians to the hospital, and, due to his interest in theatre, he was Chairman of the committee for the new theatre in the 1830s, and he personally designed the heating system for the Theatre Royal. Throughout his life, Buddle donated money to numerous causes, including one to relieve the poverty of seamen employed in the Northern Whale Fishery, the benefit off widows and orphans of mining disasters, and the erection of Penshaw monument in memory of his friend John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham.
Read more about this topic: John Buddle